Shoe-form.



C. A. BATGHBLDER.

SHOE FORM.

APPLIUATION FILED MAB.11,1903.

Patented July 16, 1912.

a m F W/TNESSES'.

w T L TATES PATENT OFFO f CHARLES A. BATCHELDER, 0F BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO 0. A. MILLER TREEING MACHINE COMPANY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

SHOE-FORM.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OnARLEs A. Baron- ELDER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brockton, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Shoe-Forms, of

which the following description, in connection wit-h the accompanying drawings, is a specificatlon, hke reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to forms, followers,

and lasts, herein referred to as shoe-forms it 77 or forms, whlch are employed for determining, preserving, or restoring the shape of boots or shoes.

The invention relates particularly to that class of shoe-forms which are made in two that the form may be shortened for insertion into or withdrawal from a shoe and may be lengthened after being placed in the shoe, so as to fill out the shoe.

' The shoe-form herein shown is especially adapted for use with low-cut or Oxford shoes in which the upper portion of the form is exposed above the top of the shoe, but of course the invention is not limited in any way to shoe-forms adapted for this use.

One of the features of my invention consists in a divided shoe-form having a single part adapted to fill completely the upper portion of a low-cut shoe so that when the form is in a low-cut shoe it will present to View only unbroken surfaces like a solid shoe-form.

Another feature of the invention consists in constructing the heel-part of a shoe-form with a member or extension adapted to support a portion of the instep of the shoe, thereby reducing the tendency of the shoe to collapse the form.

Other features of the invention, including certain details of construction and combinations of parts, will be herein described and pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a shoe-form embodying'my invention in one of the best forms now known to me, a shoe being shown in outline upon the form. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the shoe-form collapsed or flexed ready to be inserted into a shoe. Fig. 3 shows a modified construction of shoe-form embodying my invention, a shoe being shown in outline as applied to the form. The

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 11, 1903.

Patented July 16, 1912;. Serial No. 147,313.

dotted lines show the position which the shoe-form assumes when it is about to be withdrawn from the shoe.

The shoe-form comprises a fore-part a and a heel-part Z) pivotally connected, preferably by a hinge c, as shown. The line of division between the fore-part and heel-part extends from the instep on the upper side to the bottom of the form, so that the portion of the form occupying the opening at the top of the shoe, between the instep and the counter, is all comprised in the heel-part Z) and the top face of the shoe'form has a continuous or unbroken surface. The heelpart comprises forwardly projecting members or extensions 6 and f, the upper member or extension f having on its outer end a surface 7" which is adapted to support the upper part of the instep portion of the shoe. The fore-part has a member 9 for supporting the lower part of the instep of the shoe. In the preferred form, shown in Fig. 1, the portion 9 of the fore-part extends upwardly and backwardly to, or nearly to, the instep-supporting portion 7 of the heel-part. The end of the fore-part adjacent to the heel-part is cut away to form a recess inclicated at cl, for the purpose of permitting the relative movement of the parts on the hinge c.

It will be observed that when the heelpart of the form is turned up the height of the form, measured through the lower portion of the instep, is decreased, as shown in Fig. 2, thus making it easier to put the form into a shoe and to take it out.

In the preferred form of the invention, shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the hinge connection between the fore-part and heel-part is so located, either in advance of or under the illstep-supporting surface f, that the tension of the upper over the said instep-supporting surface has no tendency to collapse the shoeform.

In the modified construction, shown in Fig. 3, the lower member 6 of the heel-part is made shorter than the upper member f and the hinge c is located nearer the rear end of the shoe-form than in the construction shown in Fig. 1. This arrangement has the advantage that the form is shortened rapidly when turned on its pivot. In this embodiment of the invention the fore-part is cut away so that the recess cl is open on its front side and the supporting surface 9 for the lower part of'the instep does not extend up to the member f of the heel-part.

it indicates a handle with which the shoeform is provided for the purpose of facili- 5 tating the insertion and removel of the form from shoes. i

The top of the shoe-form may be finished with a plate 72 of brass or other ornamental material, as shown. The use of such an ornamental plate is facilitated by making the shoe-form with a single solid part to fill completely the opening at the top of the shoe between the counter and the instep.

In using my improved form the instep 5 portion of the shoe is distended and supported by the movable heel-part of the form and when the shoe-form is used with lowcut shoes it presents a better appearance than other shoe-forms because the part which is exposed to view above or through the top of the shoe is a solid portion without any lines of division, thus giving the appearance of a one-piece'shoeform. The modification shown in Fig. 3 is not claimed specifically in this application, but is'claimed in applicants Patent No. 87 7 ,980, granted Feb. 4, 1908;

Having thus described my invention, I claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States unbroken top surface and comprising a forepart and a heel-part connected at a single pivotal point, said heel-part being provided with an instep supporting surface extending substantially over said pivotal connection with the fore-part, and said fore-part be ing cut away to provide a recess in its end adjacent to the heel-part to permit the heelpart to be turned about said pivotal connection for collapsing the form.

2. A shoe form presenting a continuous or unbroken top surface and comprising 'a forepart and a heel part connected at a single pivotal point, said heel part being provided with an instep supporting surface extending substantially over said pivotal connection with the forepart and said forepart being cut away at the rear of the pivotal connection to provide a recess in its end adjacent to the heel part to permit the heel part to be turned about said pivotal connection for collapsing the form. 1

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specificationin the presence of 55 two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES BATGHELDER,

Witnesses:

ARTHUR L. RUssELL, EDWARD H. PALMER.

1. A shoe form presenting a continuous or Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

